Most U.S. smartphone owners check devices at least hourly: survey

By Suzannah Gonzales

2 Min Read

A man uses a smartphone in New York City, in this picture taken November 6, 2013.Mike Segar

(Reuters) - More than half of U.S. smartphone owners check their devices a few times an hour or more, and most Americans have their smartphones with them all day and many all night, according to a Gallup report released on Thursday.

Eleven percent of respondents said they check their smartphone every few minutes and 41 percent said they check a few times an hour, Gallup said. Another 20 percent said they check about once an hour and 28 percent check less frequently.

The Gallup survey included responses online or through the mail from 15,747 U.S. adults who own smartphones in all 50 states from April 17 to May 18. It had a 1 percent margin of error.

The report did not address how respondents are using their smartphones, whether for email, texting, the Internet, etc.

Young Americans checked their smartphones most frequently, Gallup said. Twenty-two percent of respondents from 18 to 29 years of age said they checked their smartphones every few minutes, compared to 3 percent of people 65 or older, Gallup said.

More than four out of five owners, 81 percent, said they keep their smartphone nearby almost all the time while they are awake and 63 percent said they keep the phone near them while sleeping, Gallup said.

Gallup said the close proximity at night may be for people checking it before going to sleep and upon waking, or may reflect the phone's use as an alarm clock.